370z

This video is one of the craziest things seen. Shell, the petroleum company, created a transparent Nissan 370Z to show how its Shell Helix oil works to keep a car's engine clean.

The first 30 seconds of this video is the actual commercial. Then Leila Prati, Shell Helix global brand manager, explains how the transparent car came about. The fabricators that built the car also created a double-the-normal-size, transparent, standalone engine so you can see in detail how the oil works.

Everyone is saying ENOUGH to driving while distracted; Volvo announces a plug in hybrid, while Mini wonders how to charge them; Chrysler gets rid of the book we never read, but always wanted; and we go for a ride in a really affordable performance car you wouldn't have taken seriously a few years ago.

• U.S. to hold a summit on driving while distracted--soon a stigma equal to drunk driving?

• Volvo promises its first plug-in hybrid, in showrooms by 2012… Read more

Top Gear reviews the new BMW Z4 and the Nissan 370Z, putting each car through the paces. Although the 10-minute video favors the Z4, the Nissan has a few surprises.

Folks are always talking about Nissan and Porsche's Nurburgring rivalry between their heavyweights: the GT-R and 911. But the automakers may have another rivalry on their hands a short way down their respective product lines.

When the Nissan 370Z first hit the streets late last year, many automotive journalists compared the smaller, lighter Z car's performance to the midengined Porsche Cayman S. One thing these cars do have in common is that they both live in the shadow of their more exotic siblings.

Check out this video from Best Motoring that pits the 370Z (also known as the … Read more

You know, I'm a big fan of Mustangs, both past and present. They're the classic American muscle car. But I'm also a fan of the Nissan Z series (my favorite model being the 300ZX, but I think they're all pretty sweet) as it's a fun, semisporty Japanese cruising machine. While I was searching for video for this week's blog series dedicated to my favorite cars, I found a video that had not just one but two of my fave rides--the Mustang and the Nissan 370Z. So here it is...an in depth look at … Read more

Did hydrogen cars just blow up? GM's closer to unloading Saturn, but also to keeping part of it. One less GPS nav brand to contend with. And, we get a lot of stares in this week's test car.

• First look at the Nissan Cube

• Yet another EV comes out of the woodwork

• Will the 370Z go hybrid?

• Fisker Karma now has batteries

• Toshiba ruggedized auto grade hard drives

Rumors running around the Internet suggest that Nissan will offer a hybrid version of its 370Z sports car somewhere around 2012. Currently, Nissan's only hybrid is the Altima sedan, with a power train licensed from Toyota. But Nissan has long promised a car with a hybrid system developed in-house, and showed off a concept car that would use this system, the Essence, at the Geneva auto show. The first production car featuring Nissan's own hybrid system should be based on the Infiniti M45, expected to come out in 2010. Nissan has been working on lithium ion battery development … Read more

Nissan drops the top on its 2009 Z to create the 370Z Roadster. Top up or down, this new Z Roadster is a looker, which is more than we could say for its awkwardly proportioned precursor, the 350Z Roadster.

Also new to the Roadster is the availability of Nissan's complete suite of cabin technology, including hard-drive-based navigation.

Nissan adds a few more ponies, a firmer suspension, and a few Nismo badges to the 370Z Coupe. The result should be better performance all around.

One thing is certain: that wild body kit makes the Z's controversial looks even more polarizing.